The new year is not only a great time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished in the past 12 months, but to start preparing for what we hope to achieve going forward.
With the new year comes the impetus to get things happening or make a fresh start. It’s often the same in both our personal and professional lives and can be an important aid in realizing our goals in both areas.
If you’re a franchise owner hoping to harness that new year jolt of energy, you need the right plan. Creating a checklist of tasks that will set your business up for success can be a great place to start.
Exactly what goes on your checklist is up to you and depends on your biggest and most urgent needs. Of course, every business needs to tackle some of the same things to make each year a success, so don’t leave these key items off your franchise’s beginning-of-the-year checklist.
Get a good handle on your finances
Ideally, this won’t be too difficult, because you never want to be too far removed from having a solid grasp of your financial situation. Still, make sure to review your profit and loss statement, your cash flow statement, and your overall balance sheet. It’s vital that you understand the full picture and have a good idea of what your short-term financial future looks like.
Search for ways to cut costs and generate savings
Take the time to examine your franchise’s full spending situation and search for ways to save. Can you negotiate for a better deal with a big supplier? Maybe you can find a better interest rate on borrowed money and business loans or identify new tax savings. Whether it was marketing or maintenance, which of your expenditures didn’t bear fruit in the past year, and can any of those costs be cut back this year?
Start getting ready for tax season
Tax filing time is around the corner. Start getting ready now and you’re sure to save yourself some stress later. Begin by gathering any relevant files and documents, including receipts, as well as investigating any potential tax benefits or credits you might be eligible to take advantage of. Check in with your accountant or tax professional and consider whether there are any business-related purchases you want to make and claim.
Take a moment to celebrate your achievements
The new year can bring a lot of excited energy as you get ready to hit the ground running. However, it can also be valuable to recognize how far your franchise business has come. If you’ve got any big success stories from the previous year, make sure to share them with your customers, partners and social media followers. Pausing to celebrate your business can motivate and energize employees and generate goodwill with the clients who keep you going.
Know where you want to go next
What do you want to get done in this new year? What are the business success stories you want to be telling? Put your franchise on the path to meeting its goals by drawing the map now, deciding where your effort, energy and attention should be directed as we move through the year.
There are many ways to come up with a roadmap to success, but one of the most effective is setting some big goals, then breaking each of them down into smaller, more manageable sets of tasks and attaching them to realistic timelines. That way, you’re more likely to keep racking up small wins along the way, maintaining the motivation and commitment you need to get the big goals done.
Franchising with The UPS Store
Considering investing in a franchise this year? Find out why The UPS Store can be a great business opportunity. Also, be sure to review our detailed FAQ page, which can help answer questions about our training, benefits, costs, and more.
Ready to move forward, please fill out our online request form to learn more.
